Pat Nevin
Encyclopedia
Patrick Kevin Francis Michael "Pat" Nevin (born 6 September 1963 in Glasgow
, Scotland
) is a retired Scottish footballer. In a 20-year career, he played for Clyde
, Chelsea
, Everton
, Tranmere Rovers
, Kilmarnock
and Motherwell
as a winger. Nevin was a fans' favourite at Chelsea during the 1980s. He also won 28 caps for Scotland
, scattered across a 10 year international career, and he was selected for the UEFA Euro 1992 finals squad. Since retiring as a player, Nevin has worked as a chief executive of Motherwell
and as a football writer and broadcaster.
as a youngster, but was rejected for being too small. He was signed by Clyde
in 1981. In his first season, the club were promoted as Scottish Second Division champions; Nevin scored twelve goals and was voted young player of the year for the division.
in the summer of 1983 for £95,000, joining fellow new recruits Kerry Dixon
, Nigel Spackman
, David Speedie
and Eddie Niedzwiecki
in manager John Neal
's new-look Chelsea side. Nevin's skill and pace made him a pivotal player at Chelsea and a firm favourite with the fans.
In 1983–84
, he scored 14 goals, created numerous others for the likes of Dixon and Speedie and put in some dazzling performances – during a 4–0 win over Newcastle United
, he tormented the opposition defence, leaving five defenders trailing in his wake – as Chelsea won promotion as Second Division
champions. In the same season he was voted Chelsea's player of the year. Chelsea finished a respectable sixth in the First Division
the following year and reached the Milk Cup
semi-finals, where Nevin was once again the star turn, setting up three goals in the quarter-final against Sheffield Wednesday
as Chelsea came back from 3–0 down to draw 4–4; he also set up the winner for Speedie in the replay. The club were in the title race for much of the next season, with Nevin scoring a late equaliser against Liverpool at Anfield
and a crucial header against West Ham United
to seal a 2–1 win, though a late collapse saw Chelsea finish sixth after being in the title race for most of the 1985-86 season
. A year later, the club's performances dropped and they finished 14th, though Nevin was again voted Chelsea player of the year. They were relegated a year later.
adopting a far more rigid system. He helped the side reach the FA Cup
final in 1989, scoring the winner against Norwich City
in the semi-final, but they lost 3–2 in the final to arch-rivals Liverpool
.
Howard Kendall
returned to the club as manager in November 1990; he and Nevin openly disagreed with each other, which reduced Nevin's playing opportunities, as did the arrival of new wingers Robert Warzycha
and Mark Ward.
Nevin was unfortunate to arrive at Everton just after one of the finest spells in their history, when they had collected two league titles, an FA Cup
and the European Cup Winners' Cup
. In contrast, Nevin's four seasons at the club saw a runners-up medal in the FA Cup
(1989) being the closest he came to being part of a trophy winning side, and they never finished higher than sixth in the league (1990).
club Tranmere Rovers
, then in the second tier of English football
, before signing permanently in 1992. The club competed in the Division One play-offs in three consecutive seasons (1992–1993, 1993–1994 and 1994–1995) but on each occasion they were eliminated in the semi-final.
and later Motherwell
before retiring in 2000.
to play for the Scotland
under-19 team at the European Youth Championships and was named player of the tournament after helping Scotland win it.
Nevin won 28 caps
for the Scottish national side
, making his debut against Romania
in 1986. He scored five goals in a ten-year international career and played at Euro 92, but was not selected in the final squads for the 1986 or 1990 World Cup
s. He made his final appearance for Scotland in 1996.
. He resigned from the position in April 2002 after chairman John Boyle decided to place the club in administration due to serious financial problems.
He now works as a football pundit for BBC Scotland's
Sportscene
, Channel Five and BBC Radio Five Live
. Nevin co-wrote a book, In Ma Head, Son, with psychologist Dr George Sik that was published in 1997. The book covers his experiences at Tranmere Rovers
during the 1996–97 season and eschews the typical footballer's autobiography being a dialogue with Sik which explores his worries, motivation and troubles as he comes to the end of his playing career.
He has an arts degree
from Glasgow Caledonian University
. He was noted during his playing days for being somewhat different from the stereotypical
footballer, especially through his interest in literature and the arts, and in his musical tastes, preferring The Fall and Joy Division
to Phil Collins
or Lionel Richie
. As such, he was interviewed by the NME
and was a guest presenter on Radio City during his Everton and Tranmere career. Nevin now lives in Duns
, with his wife and two children.
At the second Bowlie Weekender
, hosted by ATP
he played a DJ set, playing Belle & Sebastian
, Orange Juice
and "My New House" by The Fall while wearing a The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
t-shirt. The following day he slipped an indiepop reference onto 5 Live while talking about the Man Utd vs Arsenal match. He has also appeared as a guest DJ at How Does It Feel To Be Loved?
, a London indiepop and motown club night.
In 2010 Nevin signed as a non-playing substitute for new club Chester FC after Colin Murray of BBC Radio 5 live offered the new club £2,000 if they named Nevin and Perry Groves
as unused substitutes at every game in the 2010-11 season.This was live on 'Kicking off with Colin Murray', a show Nevin has appeared on every week since the start of the 2009/10 season. Nevin is usually beaten by ex-Arsenal player Perry Groves
in the weekly quiz.
, but now supports SPL
rivals Hibernian
, watching games at Easter Road
when he is not otherwise engaged for football commentary. He has been reported to have switched allegiances for, among other things, feeling that his boyhood heroes had become a large corporate organisation and that Celtic Park
no longer felt like home. Another reason for his switch was reported to be the IRA
chanting from Celtic
fans in front of his son. He also supports his former club Chelsea
, and writes a weekly column for the Chelsea website.
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) is a retired Scottish footballer. In a 20-year career, he played for Clyde
Clyde F.C.
Clyde Football Club are a Scottish professional football team currently playing in the Third Division of the Scottish Football League. Although based for the last fifteen years in the new town of Cumbernauld, they are traditionally associated with an area that covers Rutherglen in South...
, Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
, Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers F.C.
Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...
, Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
and Motherwell
Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
as a winger. Nevin was a fans' favourite at Chelsea during the 1980s. He also won 28 caps for Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
, scattered across a 10 year international career, and he was selected for the UEFA Euro 1992 finals squad. Since retiring as a player, Nevin has worked as a chief executive of Motherwell
Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
and as a football writer and broadcaster.
Clyde
Nevin trained with CelticCeltic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
as a youngster, but was rejected for being too small. He was signed by Clyde
Clyde F.C.
Clyde Football Club are a Scottish professional football team currently playing in the Third Division of the Scottish Football League. Although based for the last fifteen years in the new town of Cumbernauld, they are traditionally associated with an area that covers Rutherglen in South...
in 1981. In his first season, the club were promoted as Scottish Second Division champions; Nevin scored twelve goals and was voted young player of the year for the division.
Chelsea
Patrick Nevin joined ChelseaChelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
in the summer of 1983 for £95,000, joining fellow new recruits Kerry Dixon
Kerry Dixon
Kerry Michael Dixon is a retired English professional footballer who played most notably for Chelsea and England.-Early years:...
, Nigel Spackman
Nigel Spackman
Nigel James Spackman is an English football manager and former player. He was formerly a midfield player who was an integral part of the much-admired Liverpool team of 1988...
, David Speedie
David Speedie
David Robert Speedie is a retired Scottish footballer who played for several clubs in England during the 1980s and 1990s, most notably Chelsea, Coventry City, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers. He accumulated more than 500 football league appearances and scored almost 150 goals in a 14 year...
and Eddie Niedzwiecki
Eddie Niedzwiecki
Eddie Niedzwiecki is a retired Welsh footballer of Polish origin who played as a goalkeeper for Wrexham and Chelsea.Starting at Wrexham at the age of 14, Niedzwiecki stayed with the club until the summer of 1983, when he was signed for Chelsea by former Wrexham manager, John Neal...
in manager John Neal
John Neal (footballer)
John Neal is a former English football player and manager.Neal was a full-back whose playing career included numerous clubs, including Hull City, Southend United and Swindon Town...
's new-look Chelsea side. Nevin's skill and pace made him a pivotal player at Chelsea and a firm favourite with the fans.
In 1983–84
1983-84 in English football
The 1983–84 season was the 104th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Liverpool had a great first season under the management of Joe Fagan as they wrapped up their third successive league title and the 15th in their history...
, he scored 14 goals, created numerous others for the likes of Dixon and Speedie and put in some dazzling performances – during a 4–0 win over Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
, he tormented the opposition defence, leaving five defenders trailing in his wake – as Chelsea won promotion as Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
champions. In the same season he was voted Chelsea's player of the year. Chelsea finished a respectable sixth in the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
the following year and reached the Milk Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
semi-finals, where Nevin was once again the star turn, setting up three goals in the quarter-final against Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
as Chelsea came back from 3–0 down to draw 4–4; he also set up the winner for Speedie in the replay. The club were in the title race for much of the next season, with Nevin scoring a late equaliser against Liverpool at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
and a crucial header against West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
to seal a 2–1 win, though a late collapse saw Chelsea finish sixth after being in the title race for most of the 1985-86 season
1985-86 in English football
The 1985–86 season was the 106th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :The championship crown went to Liverpool for the 16th time in their history at the end of their first season under the management of Kenny Dalglish, but they had to fight off some very stiff competition to...
. A year later, the club's performances dropped and they finished 14th, though Nevin was again voted Chelsea player of the year. They were relegated a year later.
Everton
Chelsea were relegated in 1988 and Nevin was sold to Everton for £925,000. He scored 20 goals in 138 appearances for the club, but struggled to re-capture his previous form with manager Colin HarveyColin Harvey
Colin Harvey is a retired English footballer who is best known for his time as a player, coach and manager with Everton. He is married to Maureen and lives in Aughton, Lancashire.- Playing career :...
adopting a far more rigid system. He helped the side reach the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
final in 1989, scoring the winner against Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
in the semi-final, but they lost 3–2 in the final to arch-rivals Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
.
Howard Kendall
Howard Kendall
Howard Kendall is an English football manager and former player. He is most famous for his connection to Everton, a club that he both played for and managed. His uncle Harry Taylor played for Newcastle United and Fulham in the 1950s....
returned to the club as manager in November 1990; he and Nevin openly disagreed with each other, which reduced Nevin's playing opportunities, as did the arrival of new wingers Robert Warzycha
Robert Warzycha
Robert Warzycha is a Polish former professional association football player. He is currently the head coach of Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer....
and Mark Ward.
Nevin was unfortunate to arrive at Everton just after one of the finest spells in their history, when they had collected two league titles, an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
and the European Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
. In contrast, Nevin's four seasons at the club saw a runners-up medal in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
(1989) being the closest he came to being part of a trophy winning side, and they never finished higher than sixth in the league (1990).
Tranmere Rovers
Nevin spent time on loan with fellow MerseysideMerseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
club Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers F.C.
Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...
, then in the second tier of English football
Football in England
Association football is a national sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game...
, before signing permanently in 1992. The club competed in the Division One play-offs in three consecutive seasons (1992–1993, 1993–1994 and 1994–1995) but on each occasion they were eliminated in the semi-final.
Return to Scotland
In 1997, Nevin returned to Scotland and played for KilmarnockKilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
and later Motherwell
Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
before retiring in 2000.
International career
In 1981 while playing for Clyde, he travelled to FinlandFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
to play for the Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
under-19 team at the European Youth Championships and was named player of the tournament after helping Scotland win it.
Nevin won 28 caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
for the Scottish national side
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
, making his debut against Romania
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
in 1986. He scored five goals in a ten-year international career and played at Euro 92, but was not selected in the final squads for the 1986 or 1990 World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
s. He made his final appearance for Scotland in 1996.
Retirement
After retiring as a player, Nevin had a stint as chief executive of MotherwellMotherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
. He resigned from the position in April 2002 after chairman John Boyle decided to place the club in administration due to serious financial problems.
He now works as a football pundit for BBC Scotland's
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
Sportscene
Sportscene
Sportscene is the name of a range of Scottish sports television programmes produced by BBC Scotland. Its main anchors are Dougie Donnelly, David Currie, Rob MacLean and Dougie Vipond, with Alison Walker and Richard Gordon acting as relief presenters...
, Channel Five and BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
. Nevin co-wrote a book, In Ma Head, Son, with psychologist Dr George Sik that was published in 1997. The book covers his experiences at Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers F.C.
Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...
during the 1996–97 season and eschews the typical footballer's autobiography being a dialogue with Sik which explores his worries, motivation and troubles as he comes to the end of his playing career.
He has an arts degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
from Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow Caledonian University is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland.The university was constituted by an Act of Parliament on 1 April 1993 as a result of a merger between Glasgow Polytechnic and The Queen's College, Glasgow....
. He was noted during his playing days for being somewhat different from the stereotypical
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
footballer, especially through his interest in literature and the arts, and in his musical tastes, preferring The Fall and Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
to Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
or Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
. As such, he was interviewed by the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
and was a guest presenter on Radio City during his Everton and Tranmere career. Nevin now lives in Duns
Duns
Duns is the county town of the historic county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders.-Early history:Duns law, the original site of the town of Duns, has the remains of an Iron Age hillfort at its summit...
, with his wife and two children.
At the second Bowlie Weekender
Bowlie Weekender
The Bowlie Weekender was a music festival curated by Belle & Sebastian at the Pontin's Holiday camp in Camber Sands, Sussex between Friday 23rd and Sunday 25 April 1999....
, hosted by ATP
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
he played a DJ set, playing Belle & Sebastian
Belle & Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow in January 1996. Belle and Sebastian are often compared with influential indie bands such as The Smiths, as well as classic acts such as Love, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake. The name Belle & Sebastian comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1965...
, Orange Juice
Orange Juice
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band...
and "My New House" by The Fall while wearing a The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are an indie pop band from New York City. Their first album was a self-released EP which came out in 2007 through the Painbow label. Their debut self-titled full length album was released on February 3, 2009 via Slumberland Records. The band name comes from an...
t-shirt. The following day he slipped an indiepop reference onto 5 Live while talking about the Man Utd vs Arsenal match. He has also appeared as a guest DJ at How Does It Feel To Be Loved?
How Does It Feel To Be Loved?
How Does It Feel To Be Loved? is a London-based night club which predominately plays indie pop, Northern Soul and Motown music...
, a London indiepop and motown club night.
In 2010 Nevin signed as a non-playing substitute for new club Chester FC after Colin Murray of BBC Radio 5 live offered the new club £2,000 if they named Nevin and Perry Groves
Perry Groves
Perry Groves is a former English footballer, known chiefly for his time at Arsenal. He was a fast-paced player who usually played as winger, and occasionally as a striker...
as unused substitutes at every game in the 2010-11 season.This was live on 'Kicking off with Colin Murray', a show Nevin has appeared on every week since the start of the 2009/10 season. Nevin is usually beaten by ex-Arsenal player Perry Groves
Perry Groves
Perry Groves is a former English footballer, known chiefly for his time at Arsenal. He was a fast-paced player who usually played as winger, and occasionally as a striker...
in the weekly quiz.
Personal life
Nevin grew up supporting CelticCeltic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
, but now supports SPL
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
rivals Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
, watching games at Easter Road
Easter Road
Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premier League club Hibernian . The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of 20,421, which makes it the fifth-largest football stadium in Scotland. Easter Road is also...
when he is not otherwise engaged for football commentary. He has been reported to have switched allegiances for, among other things, feeling that his boyhood heroes had become a large corporate organisation and that Celtic Park
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
no longer felt like home. Another reason for his switch was reported to be the IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
chanting from Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
fans in front of his son. He also supports his former club Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, and writes a weekly column for the Chelsea website.
External links
- Profile from BBC Press Office
- Pat Nevin on the Chelsea in America Celebrity Podcast (2009).